In Mourning is a Swedish progressive death/doom band and “The Weight of Oceans” is their third album; their first for Spinefarm Records. When I first received this album I mistakenly thought I had heard the band before; I was actually thinking of another band called In Ruins. So this is my first time listening to In Mourning. Let’s see what we have here, shall we?

The first thing I notice is that the production on “The Weight of Oceans” is perfect. The first track, “Colossus” starts off rather quietly, and it is so intensely crisp and bright that I found myself eager for the song to kick into full gear. The harsh deep Amon Amarth-like vocals were slightly jarring when I first heard them; I guess given the style of the music I was expecting something else. After a few moments readjusting my mindset, it became clear that these harsh vocals are a perfect fit with this music. This music could just as easily have some powerful, clean vocals sitting on top of it and no one would think anything of it, but the harsh vocals balance the beauty of the music a heaviness and force that ultimately makes the whole song more powerful. After a few songs, it was clear to me that I would not want this album any other way than with the harsh vocals.

The music has so much more going on than most albums that bear the death metal label; In Mourning lean more towards the progressive side of progressive death metal. It will take a good many listens to wrap my ears around all the little nuances of this album. It is without question a great listen the first time through, but it just keeps getting better the more times I hear it. In terms of style only, this album brings to mind the latest Ghost Brigade, at least in terms of combining beautiful, progressive music with heavier death metal style elements.

Given that this is the first time I have heard these guys, I have to say I am extremely impressed with this album. I say this all the time with bands that are new to me, but I need to check out the back catalog and see what their first two albums sound like. I think everyone should give these guys a listen. To give you a jump start here is the video for the killer tune “A Vow to Conquer the Ocean.” Just try telling me this is not incredible.